Theo l' Herminez - Haystack with barns

Theo L'Herminez (1921-1997) is a precursor of the "Tilburg School". He became famous for his magical realistic female figures that are included in collections of banks. L'Herminez started his career as an advertising designer. This ink drawing comes from a collection of drawings from the Second World War when he worked in an impressionistic manner. In this work he combines the ambition of a free development as an artist in times of crisis with an image of continuity. He does this from the search for a connection with a sober farming lifestyle. It is a search for the shelter of a remote place with barns where the art of living is a natural given, even in times of crisis. He was inspired by Vincent van Gogh's pointilistic (divisionist) French drawing style with stripes as a basis where the viewer makes it into a whole in the contemplation. The apparent paradox of the external transience of barns in the shelter and the inner beauty of the peace moves him to continue despite the spirit of the times that focuses him on material survival. Interwoven with farm life, he studied at the Academy of Fine and Building Arts in Tilburg after the war, but in terms of style development he can certainly be called self-taught. Initially, the artist played with impressionism and realism, before arriving at his own characteristic style. This style is very similar to Magic Realism and is particularly related to the style of Pyke Koch and Carel Willink.